“As the Supreme Court held in its 1982 United States v. Lee decision, “[w]hen followers of a particular sect enter into commercial activity as a matter of choice, the limits they accept on their own conduct as a matter of conscience and faith are not to be superimposed on the statutory schemes which are binding on others in that activity.”

“In a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and sole proprietorships, can opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

There were over 100 lawsuits filed by religious businesses based on the same claims that Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods made. That FDA approved contraceptives are against their “sincere” religious beliefs. I’ve been following this since the lawsuit was filed against the government. Several months back, Think Progress wrote:

“A Hobby Lobby win also threatens to compromise the doctor-patient relationship. Since the company also argues it doesn’t want to provide “related education and counseling” about the birth control methods it opposes, that could prevent workers from discussing those types of contraception with their doctor if they want that doctor’s visit to be covered by their insurance.”

Since this decision is breaking news, we are not sure if the SCOTUS will allow corporations and businesses to compromise the doctor-patient relationship.

The United Nations declared access to family planning a fundamental human right. Dr.Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, stated:

“Not only does the ability for a couple to choose when and how many children to have help lift nations out of poverty, but it is also one of the most effective means of empowering women. Women who use contraception are generally healthier, better educated, more empowered in their households and communities and more economically productive.”

Family planning delivers immeasurable rewards to women, families, and communities around the world. By enabling individuals to choose the number and spacing of their children, family planning has allowed women, and their children, to live healthier, longer lives. – See more at: http://www.unfpa.org/public/home/news/pid/12601#sthash.SkKwXpvv.dpuf

The U.N. further states that family planning (which continues to be undermined by religious conservatives) “delivers immeasurable rewards to women, families, and communities around the world. By enabling individuals to choose the number and spacing of their children, family planning has allowed women, and their children, to live healthier, longer lives.”

Having wider access to birth control helps keep women in the workforce. Covering contraception in employees’ health benefits actually saves money in the long term, due to the high medical costs of pregnancy and childbirth.

“Governments, civil society, health providers and communities have the responsibility to protect the right to family planning for women across the spectrum, including those who are young or unmarried.”

[I]n these cases, the Hahns and Greens and their companies sincerely believe that providing the insurance coverage demanded by the HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] regulations lies on the forbidden side of the line, and it is not for us to say that their religious beliefs are mistaken or insubstantial. Instead, our “narrow function … in this context is to determine” whether the line drawn reflects “an honest conviction” and there is no dispute that it does.”

“It’s should be noted that Hobby Lobby’s concerns are not grounded in science. As a brief filed by multiple health provider groups — including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — explains, “there is a scientiﬁc distinction between a contraceptive and an abortifacient and the scientiﬁc record demonstrates that none of the FDA-approved contraceptives covered by the Mandate are abortifacients.” So Hobby Lobby isn’t just claiming the right to object to abortion, it is claiming the right to label many common forms of birth control a form of “abortion” and object to those as well — even though drugs and devices don’t actually cause abortions.”

“Based on the belief that a fertilized egg is a person, some religious groups and conservative politicians say disrupting a fertilized egg’s ability to attach to the uterus is abortion, “the moral equivalent of homicide,” as Dr. Donna Harrison, who directs research for the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, put it.

These medications are there to prevent or delay ovulation,” said Dr. Petra M. Casey, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Mayo. “They don’t act after fertilization.”

The Religious Have the Rule. Your Bosses Do Too. Human Rights Be Damned!

“Catholic health institutions may not promote or condone contraceptive practices.” . . . “Direct sterilization of either men or women, whether permanent or temporary, is not permitted in a Catholic health care institution.”

The article further states that for years, Hobby Lobby’s health insurance plans covered Plan B and Ella, and it was only in 2012, when Hobby Lobby considered filing a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, that they dropped these drugs from the plan.

“We’re Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. A new government health care mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance. It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one.”

Based on the above information, one can only conclude that the lawsuit had little to do with their “sincere religious beliefs.”

Judge William F. Kuntz II of Federal District Court in Brooklyn ruled against a group of parents who sued the city for turning their unvaccinated children away from public school during outbreaks of contagious diseases like measles. The families claimed that their right to practice their religion was being violated. Why aren’t more judges like Kuntz serving in the highest court in America?

Throughout history, bearing a child was the number one cause of death among women. Today, bearing a child is still one of the most dangerous things a woman can do. It’s the sixth most common cause of death among women age 20 to 34 in the United States.

The Supreme Court vote was not based on scientific evidence. It was not based on reason. Neither was it based on the well being of women and families.

“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said the ruling on the Hobby Lobby case was based on a misreading of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and would likely open the door to a host of unintended consequences.”

Justice Ginsberg said she feared the Supreme Court had “ventured into a minefield” with its ruling.

She further stated:

“Even if one were to conclude that Hobby Lobby and Conestoga meet the substantial burden requirement, the Government has shown that the contraceptive coverage for which the ACA provides furthers compelling interests in public health and women’s well being. Those interests are concrete, specific, and demonstrated by a wealth of empirical evidence.”

When will the religious madness end?

Update: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed that its decision a day earlier extending religious rights to closely held corporations applies broadly to the contraceptive coverage requirement in the new health care law, not just the handful of methods the justices considered in their ruling.

126 thoughts on “Religious Corporations Are People of Faith Says U.S. Supreme Court”

“It’s should be noted that Hobby Lobby’s concerns are not grounded in science.” – when were ANY of the concerns of the Religious Right ever grounded in science?

“Why aren’t more judges like Kuntz serving in the highest court in America?” – because W stacked the court with his conservative cronies, whose policies will continue to steer this country long after people are saying, “W who?”

“Vision 2020 is the product of EEA’s reflection on religious liberty trends over 19 years, learning from our members, partners and political experiences. It has an ambitious goal – to pave the way for far greater Gospel impact in Europe by 2020 – because we have changed attitudes towards religious freedom, and because we have renewed Evangelical confidence in the Gospel and in our ability to share it, no matter what happens. Europe’s Evangelicals will be effective Good News People.”

“And as evangelical Christianity and other conservative religious movements gain force in Europe, the American right is finding more allies on the Continent. Cumulatively, their victories may be changing the global climate on some of the biggest social issues of our time.”

From James Paul, former executive director of the Global Policy Forum in New York and a prominent thinker on the globalization of the Christian right: “We have a conservative period now in history — a substantial movement to the right around the world.

Conservative Christian legislators and those who vote for them don’t give a shit about women and children. That’s been obvious since their takeover of the government in 2010. Now it’s become quite apparent that neither does the highest court in the land.

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” ~ Aldous Huxley

Yep. The Abrahamic religions will be the death to us yet and could very well be the main contributor to the extinction of our species if this madness is allowed to continue in the name of “religious freedom.”

“Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived from faith … We need believing people.”

Arch, this is what pisses me off to no end. Those in religious high places don’t believe in the god they promote. They use this belief to gain and stay in power — to manipulate the masses. What is very discouraging and disheartening is that people are so gullible, overly trusting, and appear to have a great need to believe in an afterlife — so they fall for it. It seems that the only real qualifications required to be a legislator in this country is to say they belief in god. The Abrahamic god, of course. If they say they believe in the “morals” of the bible, their chances of getting elected greatly increase.

Hitler knew this.

“As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice.”

In the state of Texas, atheists are not allowed to hold elected offices, it’s in the State Constitution, and no one has laid legal challenge to it, even though it blatantly violates the separation of Church and State.

In 1961 the U.S. Supreme court ruled in Torasco vs. Watkins that no state could prohibit any otherwise qualified citizen from holding public office, and that no state could impose any religious test for office. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T…

The states that had those unconstitutional measures in their state constitutions (seven at present including the state I live in) have not removed them and people who don’t challenge them or educate themselves on this issue buy into the lie.

I look at it this way Arch — people (atheist and agnositics, humanist and freethinkers) in those states wouldn’t want to want to waste their time because people have been brainwashed by their religious community/culture.

A study was done by Psychologists at the University of British Columbia and the University of Oregon demonstrating that anti-atheist prejudice stems from moral distrust. Participants were asked to decide if a fictional driver damaged a parked car and left the scene, then found a wallet and took the money, was the driver more likely to be a teacher, an atheist teacher, or a rapist teacher?

Hey! Hey! Now you Atheists are getting out of control. No bad talk about Texas.
10 years ago we finally did away with the, I’m not kidding it means exactly what it sounds like, “He just needed killing” LAW. 🙂

“The conservative religious right are destroying the fabric of America.” This is a true, frightening, and powerful statement, Victoria. Religion in politics is a parasitic creature devouring its host: us. This ruling sickens me. It also sickens me when I hear arguments that folks like you, who write blogs pointing out the parasitic nature of religion, are unfair to religion because you fail to point out the “good” stuff it’s done as well as the bad. This is akin to saying it is unfair to point out the bad stuff Hitler and the Nazis did without pointing out the good they did as well. Hitler had the trains run on time, he boosted the German economy, for a few years at least, and he provided decent health benefits to members of the Nazi party. Focus just on these points, and, hey, Adolf was a fine fellow. Religion gets a sickening amount of positive press coverage and political fringe benefits, tax exempt status being just one. What it doesn’t get is enough bashing and ridicule for the diseased, parasitic monster that it is. Child rape is all but condoned and bred within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, yet the institution goes on unpunished and influences votes in the Supreme Court which harm decent human beings and takes away their rights simply because it claims an invisible guy exists and demands they dictate sexuality to people. Fuck them. Fuck this ruling, and fuck the Court for allowing this shit to go on. Thomas Jefferson is rolling around in his grave right now. Separation of Church and State my ass, the Church is ALL that ever seems to truly matter in this country, not human beings. I hate religion. And fuck it if my hating it hurts its little tiny feelings.

“Child rape is all but condoned and bred within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, yet the institution goes on unpunished and influences votes in the Supreme Court which harm decent human beings and takes away their rights simply because it claims an invisible guy exists and demands they dictate sexuality to people.”

Well said Jeff. I am literally sick to my stomach. Such betrayal. We are going backwards. Back to the Dark ages. This ruling had NOTHING to do with “sincere religious beliefs” or morality. Hobby Lobby proved that by doing most of their business with China and the $73 million invested in funds with stakes in contraception makers . This ruling is about religious domination; and at any cost unless it affects their own wallets. Despicable!

“It also sickens me when I hear arguments that folks like you, who write blogs pointing out the parasitic nature of religion, are unfair to religion because you fail to point out the “good” stuff it’s done as well as the bad.”

Jeff, thank you so much for your support and for your activism as well. It means a lot. It angers me that we have to spend so much of what time we have left to be alive on this planet standing in the gap — standing up for whats right — because so many are busy dreaming about gong to la la land someday. It is true — religion has caused neural circuity in the frontal lobes of believers to deactivate — and all of humanity, other species and the planet are paying the price.

My greatest rage comes not from the fact that people believe in invisible guys, but from the fact the belief is held in such deference that it is immune to critique and righteous outrage. We get attacked for being angry because the religious right DEMANDS their belief be imposed on everyone else without criticism and without question. We the questioners are the villains in their eyes. Damn it! I’m pissed! I think we live in country of brain dead idiots. There’s fear to learn in America. Fear to grow and question.

I agree, Jeff. I am reminded of a quote by Lillian Smith (1897 – 1966), an American white woman in the South who openly embraced controversial positions on matters of race and gender equality. She was unafraid to criticize segregation and worked towards the dismantling of Jim Crow laws during a time when such actions almost guaranteed social ostracism. She nailed it when she wrote:

“For men tied fast to the absolute, bled of their differences, drained of their dreams by authoritarian leeches until nothing but pulp is left, become a massive, sick Thing whose sheer weight is used ruthlessly by ambitious men. Here is the real enemy of the people: our own selves dehumanized into ”the masses.” And where is the David who can slay this giant?”

Yep — good ‘ole Catholic boys. “Every sperm is sacred.” The well being of women matters not to them. As their “good” book states, women were created for men, not men for the women. Only one male Justice voted in favor of preventative health care for women. It doesn’t matter to them what the wealth of empirical evidence shows. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg stated, “they have opened Pandora’s box.”

On the one hand I think it a good thing, as it might demonstrate to the fence sitters just how insidious religious doctrine is. Perhaps a truly secular President & Supreme Court is not too far in the future?

I hope so, Ark. In the meantime — I suspect that these religious fanatics are going to take advantage of their new constitutional “rights”. If it’s against their religion that women work outside of the home — then it seems that they can legally fire women or not hire them at all. If it’s against their religion that women get equal pay for equal work — well — need I say more? No were in the bible does it say that abortion and contraceptives are immoral. No where. In fact, as you are aware, forced abortion is condoned. So I can’t imagine where this barbaric decision by a bunch of superstitious, misogynist, power hungry men is going to take America.

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s white, male, rightwing majority has issued three of its most misogynist rulings in years. It’s one thing to read the orders and the scathing dissents penned by justices who lost. But it was sickening to hear the lusty cheers of victors on the Court’s steps on NPR’s newscast. What exactly were the victors celebrating?

On Friday, it was the rights of anti-abortion protesters to confront, harass and bully vulnerable women in front of clinics before seeking an abortion. On Monday, it was the power of private corporations owned by Christian fundamentalists to cut out contraceptive services from women employees’ health plans. Also Monday, it was shrinking the fees that labor unions can collect for political organizing; in this case, in the low-wage, poor-benefit home health field, where most workers are women and people of color.
Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court is a devastating blow to real religious liberty,” said Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, speaking of the Hobby Lobby ruling. The case challenged Obamacare’s requirement that businesses offer birth control in health plans; it exempted religious non-profit corporations, such as Catholic hospitals. “These cases are about far more than birth control or access to health care,” he said. “At stake are the religious liberty rights of all workers in the United States—their right to live their lives according to their own beliefs and consciences, and their freedom from having their employers’ beliefs forced upon them. This ruling is just the tip of the iceberg… the Supreme Court has shown that it will not protect the religious liberty of employees.”

“We need to put an end to the war on working women,” echoed Democracy for America’s Karli Wallace. “The U.S. Supreme Court gave bosses across America the right to deny birth control access to their female employees. And on top of that, they made it nearly impossible for home healthcare workers to form and sustain a union… These decisions are further proof that conservatives are doubling down on their war on women: The first gives mostly male corporate executives power over whether or not working women can get the health care they need, and the second prevents predominantly female home healthcare workers from building any real power for themselves—the kind of power that could lead to the job security and decent wages they deserve. ”

“Hobby Lobby Proves Courts Are Not the Answer
Supreme Court continues tear down of church and state separation

In a stunning case of religious privileging, the Supreme Court decided a for-profit corporation not only has religious rights, but can flex those rights to deny employees contraception coverage. This ruling represents the latest in a pattern of court decisions privileging certain religious viewpoints.

In the past few months alone we have also seen two other major cases privileging religion:

* In Town of Greece v. Galloway, the Supreme Court protected Christian prayers at local government meetings.
* In Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the Equal Protection clause does not apply to nonbelievers, therefore the daily recitation of “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance is not excluding of nonbeliever students.”

The puppet-masters that controlled Bush really knew what they were doing when they stacked the court. Adams did basically the same thing to Jefferson, his bitter rival, in his “Midnight Appointments” made just before Jefferson took over.

I don’t recall now who it was, who was the Democratic member of the Supreme Court, who decided to resign during W’s administration, but I recall being extremely disheartened that he did.

The next Pres will have a good chance of restacking it, as many of those guys and gals are getting a little long in the tooth. We (all of us) need to push really hard for the next President, as a number of irrevocable decisions could well be made during that term.

I agree, so I’m jumping in. Sorry for the butt in, but this issue has me incensed. Truly stunning. What’s next, a for profit organization that think blood transfusions go against the will of god can refuse ti have their insurance cover such things on religious grounds? It is time for mommy and daddy to send the kiddies to the tree house to read their comics and fight over which superhero is strongest while they get the house in order inside. This ruling is stunning and blatantly UN-American.

“In the 35-page dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, lambasted the majority opinion—delivered by five male justices—as “a decision of startling breadth” that would allow corporations to “opt out of any law … they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

this was a simply horrendous decision. You know what, though? Maybe EVERY god damn religious owned for profit organization should stand up and DEMAND they be allowed to dictate who gets what covered by their insurance based on their private religious “faith.” Fuck it. Let radical Muslim groups, Scientologists, and Conservative Christian groups demand all of their employees follow their “faith.” Let’s see how happy America is when all of us have every single medical decision we make be determined by the religious “faith” of the heads of corporations and businesses. Let’s have more rights taken away and more of our choices be based on the religious beliefs of our bosses. Maybe then enough people will get off their lazy, numb asses and see just how horrible a decision like this one by the Supreme Court is.

Well, I’ll be honest with you, Jeff. Unless it affects men of equal measure or greater, I seriously doubt much will be done. Religion has devalued women for so long that the fact that they literally put their health and lives in jeopardy via pregnancy simply doesn’t matter to many men, it seems. Scripture teaches that women were created for men, not men for women. That instantly devalues women. This mentality is embedded in the psyche of Americans.

“Women should stay at home, keep house and bear children. If a woman dies from childbearing, let her die. That is all she is here for.” ~Martin Luther

Another good link. Thanks. I was watching my local PBS news station yesterday and they showed interviews with women who were representatives of various christian “pro-life” groups. They were so happy with the courts decision. How terribly sad that these people (women) who are most affected by the vote are so brain washed by the male-dominated society in which we live they actually cheered their own subjugation to it. My heart breaks most when I witness such things. I feel defeated and that the “man” has literally won. The Abrahamic religions are male created, male run, and misogynistic. If it were men’s bodies that were being controlled by the courts, this vote would never have even come up. Male dominated religions hate women and lust for them at the same time. This makes them hate them even more. Until more rights are taken and more freedoms lost, the masses most affected by shit rulings like this won’t fight back. But even if such a time comes, I’m afraid concepts such as liberty, freedom and justice for all will remain only in comic books. Our society has been beaten into submission. We’ve lost.

“It is tragic, but understandable, why so many men throughout history have supported these sexist and patriarchal belief systems. More incredible is how many women have willingly taken part in their own subjugation by joining and participating in religions that have done their utmost to deny them the full equality and equal rights which they deserve.”

“The reality is that sincere religious beliefs and legitimate interpretations of scripture can, and very often do, cause immense evil and harm. And when a more enlightened future age arrives to tote up the harms done by religion, I am certain that the systematic oppression and denial of basic rights to one-half of the human race will rank near the top.”

——
Women who support their own subjugation are not only dealing with major indoctrination/brainwashing (which has been the case throughout history) but research shows that they are also dealing with a form of Stockholm syndrome. Wiki states: “Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them.” It further states that SS does not necessarily require a hostage scenario, but which describes “strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other.

I think a lot of young women forget that it’s only been a few decades that women had any rights at all, much less a voice. That women couldn’t own property or hold a patent. If conservative men get their way by taking away women’s reproductive rights, they will get back what they lost — free labor — female slavery.

When I own a multi-billion dollar, tax-exempt organization that dictates what you can and can not do with your own body, and when I’m not the outsider, than you can but in to my replies without asking nicely first. And I’m still waiting for my cashiers check.

Agreed. Also, no man or men, much less corporations and religions should be making decisions on women’s bodies unless they are physicians and have the consent of the women who hired them. There should also be equal representation, male and female. So either remove a number or add a number. These justices should also have a thorough neurological and psychological evaluation (the works) as should members of Congress, the President, and those who head the Defense Department. I do not believe that conservative Christians (majority of the SCOTUS) have the best interest of the people in mind. Huge red flag IMO.

I have been wondering lately if this strongly held religious belief that so overtly ignores scientific findings and history as well is not a form of mental illness. As such, no one who holds extremist religious beliefs should be able to hold public office or serve in the military. Worst of all, I’m one of the local theists! I just read Jerico Brisance’s posts about the serious illness of his newborn daughter. As she got better and things started to go back to normal, one of the lingering questions that came up for him was the grounding of her medical treatment in evolutionary biology. He had been a staunch anti-evolution Christian. He realized that if his religious views had been used to control scientific exploration, he probably would have lost his daughter. Total disjunction from reality.

Hi Mariah, great to see you again. Hope all is well. You wrote: “He realized that if his religious views had been used to control scientific exploration, he probably would have lost his daughter. Total disjunction from reality.”

I, too, read Matt’s posts about his infant daughter, and it is daunting when realizing that being closed-minded to scientific exploration can have a profoundly negative impact on individuals, families and humanity as a whole. So many people are harmed and die in the name of ignorance and tradition.

You wrote: ” As such, no one who holds extremist religious beliefs should be able to hold public office or serve in the military.”

I couldn’t agree more, especially since we now know that extremist religious beliefs, or in the medical term, hyper-religiosity. is a major feature of many common mental disorders.

Our military has a very serious problem now with religious extremism. From Center for Inquiry, Office of Public Policy, Washington, DC — James A. Parco, PhD with some key findings

Institutional support for fundamentalist, evangelical Christianity in the military has spread and entrenched since September 11, 2001, beginning in haste during the Bush administration and remaining unchallenged by the Obama administration.

Senior fundamentalist evangelical Christian officers have used their rank and authority to undermine subordinate’s efforts (such as the Air Force Academy’s RSVP program) to maintain institutional neutrality toward religion and religious sects, and foment a culture of tolerance and professionalism.

Fundamentalist evangelical Christian organizations are given preferential access to numerous military installations, including the Pentagon and the various service academies, and have had their activities sanctioned and even promoted—in uniform and on duty—by religiously aligned military leadership.

With Department of Defense approval, fundamentalist Christian religious organizations printed and distributed camouflaged-covered Bibles prominently featuring trademarked official U.S. military service emblems, for sale in base exchanges and elsewhere.

There’s more in the link below that’s very eye-opening. It’s scary stuff. The severely mentally ill, having unfettered power, are literally taking over the United States.

Jeez, what is breeding all the deeply psychotic paranoia that fuels this right wing drive. It’s a bizarre paradox. Never before has there been such mass communication and availability of information from around the entire globe and beyond: political/scientific/psychological/ etc etc and yet huge dollops of humanity seem to be heading into a shared mental regression. It would be bad enough if they kept it to themselves, but why do they want to inflict their ignorant control freakery on others? I almost feel sorry for the god who does not exist. If he did, he would be desperate to disinvent himself.

“I almost feel sorry for the god who does not exist. If he did, he would be desperate to disinvent himself.”

Isn’t that the truth, Tish? A hyper-religious psychosis has taken over America. It’s a mental illness that is being empowered by “religious freedom.” I am greatly worried about America. I was stunned at how the religious right were celebrating this decision because it’s not just about birth control. The ramifications are daunting.

Interesting. I was just reading about that. They have opened Pandora’s box. I also just read that they have now achieved the lowest confidence rating in history.

“On the same day the justices ruled on a controversial case dealing with Obama’s contraception policy, a new Gallup Poll finds only 30% of Americans have confidence in the Supreme Court — a record low for the judicial branch.”

If I can make everybody else follow the dictates I think my god wants, then it bolsters my own beliefs and actions and helps me not ask questions about any of it. Well, that probably applies to the rank and file, tragically, as far as I can tell, religious right leaders are just in it for the money, power, and sex. Of course, when all else fails, there’s the promise of hell to pay for not toeing the line!

Good points. It’s interesting how the ‘devout’ think they have the right to interfere with other people’s lives, and in very personal ways, and on a scale from autocratic, through dictatorial, to punitively tyrannical. Rather like the Spanish Inquisition in fact. It’s the witch-hunt mentality that I find truly alarming – the real hell if you like.

WP obv decided you were a wicked insurgent and had decided I should no longer follow you. But here I am. Tracked you down.

You prob noticed I learned about this on Arb’s. Would you like the intellectual rationale critiquing it, others have already done that beautifully. Or my personal view? What a fucking load of evil misogynist power-hungry wankers treating women as shit, and disguising it as hypocritical religious garbage?

Seriously, I am loathe to crit other peoples’ countries, but this is too many steps too far. This is not the land of the brave and the free, and people should stop living in the past.

This, is an oppressive country, that subjects its own people to hardship, food stamps FFS, insurance-based health care (an evil invented by god), and then restricted by religious belief or cost, and invades half the world. Or at least 70 countries in just over a century, in the name of democracy, peacekeeping, and humanitarian rights?

There is some bizarre dichotomy that seems to say, what we do must be right, because we are America. We have Independence Day ironically coming up and we are FREE! We are the world’s best democracy.

Sorry, I’m ranting, but my point is the US is none of those things. It is however powerful, keeps all myths in place, and all people in their place.

Kate, no apologies for ranting. I concur with your sentiment. This is a very serious issue and I’m stunned that so many seem either supportive of this ruling or are apathetic. Here’s what went down the day after the ruling.

WASHINGTON (AP) — “The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed that its decision a day earlier extending religious rights to closely held corporations applies broadly to the contraceptive coverage requirement in the new health care law, not just the handful of methods the justices considered in their ruling.”

We’d be absolute fools to assume the religious right won’t take full advantage of this. Of the largest health care corporations in the country, four of six are administered by the Catholic Church.

For the most part — -women are fucked. Fucked by insecure, mentally dysfunctional men (and women) who do not want to see women healthy, educated and empowered in America.

I’m still so filled with blind rage over the whole thing I can barely speak. I really, truly didn’t expect this. I thought there was no way, that SCOTUS just couldn’t be *that* ridiculous. I’ve never been so upset to be wrong.

Madalyn, I had this post prepared a couple of months ago (with exception to a few extractions and additions), ready to be published as soon as I heard the ruling. I had a feeling, based on all the feedback I was reading from solid sources over this past year, that this ruling was not going to play out in favor of women’s reproductive rights, women’s health and well being, the well being of their families, or our country. This ruling is an absolute travesty.

And as I’ve written elsewhere, Hobby Lobby employees should now legally press their God-fearing employer to pay them daily—just as the good book commands:

“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.” Leviticus 19:13 (NIV)

“Don’t take advantage of a hired person who is poor and needy, whether he’s your fellow citizen or a foreigner who lives in your city. Pay his wages that same day before the sun sets, because he is poor and his livelihood depends on it. Otherwise, he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will incur guilt.” Deut. 24:14-15 (ISV)

Where this is leading is rather daunting. The 5 justices, Hobby Lobby owners and the rest of those who have jumped on the authoritarian train to deny women contraceptive coverage have the minds of dictators. I’ve been following this development since 2010 and these dictators have one thing in mind — to reverse Roe v Wade and make contraception illegal in America — forced birth. Here’s what happened when Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu banned abortion and contraception. Not only did women die in droves but there was a proliferation of babies and children in overcrowded institutions because families couldn’t afford to take care of them.

When ABC’s 20/20 visited these orphanages, they found, in their words, “babies stacked on the shelves of a cart like loaves of bread” and children ended up with severe mental illness — attachment disorders. The country experienced over population, a shortage of resources, extreme poverty, starvation, and economic collapse. Know wonder they had his fucking brains blown out in front of a firing squad.

This is exactly where America is headed.

Metaphorically speaking, I hope Hobby Lobby, the RCC and all the other American dictators who believe that contraception goes against their “sincere religious beliefs” gets their fucking brains blown out.

“I hope Hobby Lobby, the RCC and all the other American dictators who believe that contraception goes against their “sincere religious beliefs” gets their fucking brains blown out.”
Nicely put. I hope the metaphoric equivalent of this happens soon. I’d love to see it. Unlikely, but I do hope.

I hear ya! The religious right only concerns itself with the rights of children prior to birth. After that, it’s basically “screw ’em—let ’em fend for themselves”.

Your comment on Nate’s blog about the AFA/AFR brought home the point that religious fundamentalists cannot abide living by the very constitution that secures their right to exist. Here’s but one example:

(And this is no POE: he really means what he says.)

The way I see it, this decision has opened the doors to every other religious claimant demanding similar concessions. Having allowed for it once, what possible argument could be proposed in denying them the ability to enforce their faith-based discrimination policies?

Sadly, this isn’t the only setback for secular humanism. A few days ago the Israeli High Court issued a ruling to enforce Shabbat laws in Tel Aviv:

So this brainwashed Catholic guy believes that only Catholics should vote in America, and that the U.S. should be run by a benevolent dictatorship. I wonder what the evangelical dictators think about that? What I also found interesting, but not surprising, was his complete and utter contempt for humanity. With 6 Catholics in the Supreme Court, and at least 5 with zero critical thinking skills and a lust for dominance, the RCC just might get their way in this country —> a dictatorship.

And about the ruling of Shabbat laws. Wow. Yet another example of primitive mindsets in the 21st century.

——————————————–

“The only true shield standing between women and the Bible, that handbook for the subjugation of women, is a secular government. U.S. citizens must wake up to the threat of an encroaching theocracy, and shore up Thomas Jefferson’s wall of separation between church and state.”
~Annie Laurie Gaylor — 2004

Jeff, this is yet another clear example that the RCC is nothing more than self-serving,— it’s only true concern is to remain in power and to control other people’s lives. “Do as I say, not as I do.” The other guy was spot on. It’s nothing but a sham. How long is it going to take for people to WTFU and stop feeding this monster?

All hope’s not lost. Millennials are becoming “progressively” less religious, and the minority demographic has increased as well (so much so that Republican-held southern states like Georgia are expected to become swing states by 2020). The key is getting those people out to vote, and probably more importantly… patronizing merchants that practice/support equality initiatives. I don’t shop for crafts, but surely there are competitors with better HR policies than Hobby Lobby.

The following survey reports on businesses that champion LGBT equality, but LGBT-friendly workplaces usually support women’s rights as well:

Ron, you nailed it when you said the key is getting those people out to vote and patronizing merchants that practice/support equality initiatives. As you may know, a study from the University of Leeds found that approximately 95% of people follow in crowds without their conscious awareness. The study found that most humans are like sheep. The religious right know this which is why they have gained so much power. Jesus even called his followers sheep. So we have our work cut out for us. Even though we have extensive evidence that equality and family planning stabilizes families and societies, for many (especially conservatives) evidence matters not. What seems to matter to them the most is 2000+ year old copies of copies of copies of copies of manuscripts put in a book that contain no original manuscripts and more errors than text.

I appreciate the link and I hope that things will turn around soon. All indications suggest that we are quickly becoming a 3rd World country. In the second link it states that if we continue on the course we are, we will most likely be a 3rd world nation by 2023.

I like how he just ignores all of the middle ages and charges boldly into the fray screaming the battle cry of the Holy Roman Empire. Like we don’t know how it turns out in his story. Yeah man. Let the Catholics lead. I mean how bad could it be?

” WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed that its decision a day earlier extending religious rights to closely held corporations applies broadly to the contraceptive coverage requirement in the new health care law, not just the handful of methods the justices considered in their ruling.”
Heil Hitler!! This is simply horrible and an affront to human rights and human dignity. I fucking hate christians more and more every day. Fascist. Intolerable. Evil. Monsters.

I don;t know guys. I’m with you on how poor of a decision this is from the SC but I’m sorry, even if we were an Atheist country we would not have better representation. The politicians would simply stop selling them selves as Christian and instead sell themselves as… what is you kids like? Anyway, it would be that! Whatever “that” is. That’s what they would tell you.

Case in point, how many of you think President Obama’s foreign policy is that of a Democrat?
Have you read the PNAC report, “Improving America’s Defenses?”

I think this country will continue to act worthless until our people take their responsibility to be involved in politics seriously. Until then the leaders can flap on about whatever and do whatever, as long as we, the citizens, continue not to carer.

Hi Hayden. My advice to the good folk of the US: scrap your current system of governance and adopt the Parliamentary system. It obviates any grandstanding by egotistical individuals, and ensures things actually get done. Sure, its not perfect, but it has some great safety-valves which ensure the temperature never gets too high.

It would never work. The big stumbling block would be that the Parliamentary buildings are always like a fifth of the size of a senate or congress and trust me YOU DO NOT WANT REDNECKS within arms reach of decent human beings!

Here’s the way I see it, Hayden, and correct me if we differ – the Rebooblicans throw out such emotionally-charged catch phrases (buzz words) as, “Mom,” “Freedom,” “Apple Pie,” and whatever religious phrases meet the requirement, and get the poor, desperate, disenfranchised to vote from them, who are unable to see that the entire Rebooblican platform is designed to see they those same people remain wage slaves to the fatcats who support the Rebooblican candidates, but the poor lack the education to see it.

Obama has not performed as well as I had expected. He spent his first two years, during which time he had a bi-cameral Democratic majority, not taking advantage of that fact, then the 2010 elections took that away from him, and gave him a Rebooblican Congress determined to see that Obama finished his term as a “do-nothing” President.

Obama also could have and SHOULD have explained Obamacare so that everyone understood it – I’m a little smarter than the average bear, and I don’t understand it – how easy then, is it for Rebooblicans to smear it?

He should have IMMEDIATELY put a stop to the torture, and the offshore Black sites located in countries that consider torture a good candidate for a new Olympic sport. He should have assigned a committee to look into the Bush-Cheney handling of the war in Iraq, exposed all the dirty secrets, and sent some people to prison, a la Watergate.

With any luck, he may still have a chance to support a Supreme Court Justice.

So I don’t know if I ever mentioned on my blog but I’m a moderate. Pro Gun/Pro Choice. So when I look at your response I see a lot of excuses for a man I had to vote for twice. He was better than nothin. Now I can either go along with those excuses or I can say, looks like republican, talks like a Republican, damn it we been had.

The Obamacare thing wasn’t even on the Radar when he brought it up. No one was talking about health care on either side of the aisle. I really think it was the Democrat version of screaming terrorist. It’s served to distract us from our wars and economy, which were the two big issues before Obamacare.

You mentioned several things he should have done and I agree with you. Any Democrat would have done at least of few of those things. But we were lied to! Bamboozelled! Hoodwiunked! We been Had! We don’t have the first black President! We have the first black Republican President!

The next election will be about fear and religion – fear of those little brown people who are swarming across our Southern border to take our jobs that we don’t want and refuse to do, for the low pay that we refuse to work for. Fear unites.

I lived in Mexico for 6 years, and when I drove my U-Haul across the border, there was no green card to seek, no admission to be granted. The border guard at the crossing told me I needed to drive my truck over to a special area and take everything out, so it could be inspected, “Or – give me twenty dollars – ees OK!” Cheap at the price.

Hi Hayden, you wrote: “I think this country will continue to act worthless until our people take their responsibility to be involved in politics seriously. Until then the leaders can flap on about whatever and do whatever, as long as we, the citizens, continue not to care.”

I agree. There’s a lot of apathy. I am reminded again of a quote by Lillian Smith:

“For men tied fast to the absolute, bled of their differences, drained of their dreams by authoritarian leeches until nothing but pulp is left, become a massive, sick Thing whose sheer weight is used ruthlessly by ambitious men. Here is the real enemy of the people: our own selves dehumanized into ”the masses.” And where is the David who can slay this giant?”

Hayden, do you recognize a mentality like someone in particular who’s been posting on Nate’s last post? A post that was directed at this particular person? Take special note of the last paragraph on page 2.

You know I read this and wanted to say the writer is a Liberal, hold it together people I’m not done yet, and he got all of his information from the same source, Mr Chomsky. HOWEVER, that does not change that what he puts forward is in keeping with what World History has shown us. Not just in Germany but always. When people get desperate and hungry they buy anything.

The only way I see out of this is for alll of Y-O-U to start making friends with the right wing, or left depending on your orientation, and start making friends. People are influenced by friends and if we are going to change this country it will NOT be by making the other side the enemy. No matter how stupid Kathy is.

Oh my Hayden, I don’t think you got what I was intending when I shared that article with you with special emphasis on the last paragraph. It had nothing to do with me viewing Kathy as an enemy or right-wingers. My point was that she sees anyone outside of her world view as an enemy. That includes other religions, especially Islam, science, non-Christian universities, and peer-reviewed studies, etc. Those are her words. It’s a very extremist mindset and it’s not going to change by holding her hand and making friends. She’s been deeply indoctrinated. And Chomsky was not the only sources used in the article.

“The only way I see out of this is for alll of Y-O-U to start making friends with the right wing, or left depending on your orientation, and start making friends”

LOL — tell that to your friend Jesus when he supposedly overturned the tables of the money changers in the court temple because he was pissed off at what they were doing. Positive social change does not come about in the manner you prescribed and never has. If Martin Luther King, Jr. was alive today I’m sure he’d set the record straight for you. 😉 Please read — it’s short.

Oh hey. I didn’t mean for it to sound like I wasn’t reading. I just think the answer IS as simple as making friends. Right now both sides of the arena view the other side as the enemy. That has to change. AND WHY’D YOU MAKE ME READ THAT WHOLE PAGE WHEN I COULD HAVE JUST WATCHED THE VIDEO?

As for Kathy, she is a special case, God bless her… Well somebody needs to anyway! I do not think anything an help her unless she has some kind of life altering epiphany but those are rare and hard to arrange. But in general, we need the political system to stop selling the 70% of us that are moderates on how it is one way or the other.

As for the video, I’m not sure I’d agree it is an addiction. Honestly because it means I would have to feel pity for the very politicians I prefer to look down my nose at.

This just goes to show that money indeed ‘talks’. What a farce! I am glad we live in the age where we don’t have to be scared anymore to openly say ‘I don’t believe in your god or beliefs’. I want to see anyone judging me for that! I’ll sue! 😀

Indeed it does Sonel. I am reminded of a recent ruling when the SCOTUS struck down a limit on campaign contributions (making it much easier for the wealthy to buy candidates and political committees), stating that is was violating free-speech. But if things keep going the way they are in the states, we the people just may lose our right to any free-speech. Doctors are losing them now, not only with being forbidden to discuss contraceptive options with their patients in hospitals and clinics owned by religious corporations, but now doctors have lost the right to discuss guns with their patients in Florida and will be punished for doing so. This is just unreal.

I missed this post when you first posted it for some reason, but I’m glad you wrote it because you give some really great arguments for why birth control is so important. It’s a right that every woman should have and that should not be taken away because of someone else’s religion. This country has gone backwards in regards to women’s rights because of this SCOTUS decision.

Hey Tanya, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to comment. You know, this is just scratching the surface. The long-term ramifications of this decision are daunting in a number of ways, but especially regarding the well being of women, children, family, society and the economy. Their aim is to eventually ban all contraceptives and abortion and the extremists have been successfully chipping away at this since 2010. Remember what happened in Romania when dictator Nicolae Ceausescu outlawed abortion and contraceptives? There was a proliferation of children that parents couldn’t afford to take care of so they went to state facilities.

That’s so scary! I don’t think most anti-abortion people even know of these cases in which family planning has been outlawed, like Romania. I didn’t even realize how bad it got there! The best thing to do is to keep spreading information about the ramifications of a ban on family planning and why family planning is necessary in order for a society to function.